Love Canal-Kristian Cook

Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?

    When I was in high school, I took an AP Environmental Science course. I remember learning about environmental disasters like Chernobyl, Bhopal, Seveso, and even the Love Canal. These seemed like large-scale disasters of the past that we have since learned from and made the system safe and incapable of making mistakes. I did not realize that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today, however, while googling additional stories I was amazed by the prevalence of similar cases. Some incidents are large, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2012. But there are thousands of “lower scale” cases such as the increase in cancer cases in the small town of Helinski or several families severely affected by contaminated drinking water a few miles away from Memphis both due to the careless choices of prior local chemical companies. Many neighborhoods built on top of old waste sites have had to be evacuated because of increased cancer and birth defects. Many people have been affected by accidental contamination of the air and drinking water from chemical plants and oil refineries. They may not be all large-scale disasters--yet--but people are still affected every day by mishaps similar to what happened at Love Canal.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill:
http://www.earthtimes.org/pollution/gulf-coral-damaged-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill/1901/

Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your family today?

    This assignment interested me and I started researching possible environmental tragedies that could occur in my home town of Orem, UT and disasters that have occurred in the past. There are all kinds of concern for if the Deer Creek dam were to break and even a nearby case of a few homes affected by a gas leak. Some neighborhoods have been built on landfills closer than I imagined. But the most noteworthy environmental issue that hit close to home was the increasing prevalence of Autism in the state of Utah. In 2011, Stanford University published a study that found that genetics accounts for 38 percent of the risk of autism and environmental factors account for 62 percent. High levels of toxic metals in children are strongly correlated with the severity of autism and the Great Salt Lake has the highest concentration of mercury of any water body in the U.S. According to the article “We are constantly inhaling dust and emissions from Kennecott and the expanding dry beaches surrounding the Great Salt Lake, all of which contain mercury, lead or other heavy metals.” In addition Utah has the nation's highest rate of antidepressant use, we often have the worst air pollution in the nation, and five local oil refineries put us at risk for exposure to many toxins that lower our levels of glutathione (our antioxidant against heavy metals). So yes, I believe that environmental crises have the potential to severely affect my family (and future family) and I want to be well-informed about them so that I can do whatever it takes to keep my family safe.

Article on Autism prevalence:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/53862628-82/autism-utah-autistic-environmental.html.csp


 Why should we care about something that happened over 30 years ago?

    For one thing, we should be able to learn from it. We have to recognize that Love Canal was not the only community built near environmentally hazardous land. Even though a lot has changed legislatively when it comes to monitoring and directing previous waste sites and neighborhoods built near potentially harmful industrial plants, etc. to minimize the chances of more Love Canal disasters happening, things can still happen. Things can still go wrong. There are leaks we cannot control and gases that pass undetected. Machines malfunction and equipment is not always accurate. There are many cases, such as in the San Diego area, where neighborhoods built on top of former landfills are leaching chemicals known to cause cancer, reproductive harm and other health problems. Seven different sites in this area of San Diego have been tested regularly since leakages were first noted in 2011 and corrective measures have been implemented to stop the seepage from affecting the neighborhoods that have been built nearby. We have to recognize the seriousness of what happened at Love Canal and realize that it could happen again and do whatever is necessary to keep our communities safe.

Seven Landfills leaking in San Diego Area:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/05/exclusive-seven-former-north-county-landfills/

Comments:
As a mom, stories like this make me want to do whatever I can to make sure that my kids are not put in a position where they would be exposed to environmental hazards like this. It makes me want to contact local authorities to make sure that I am living somewhere safe and even then I feel like I should have my soil tested and figure out how far I live from any potential chemical or oil plant that could cause threats in the future. My grandfather died of cancer from radiation exposure from when he was younger and worked for a few years in a Uranium mine in Blanding, UT. I never got to meet him. Many of my family members feel they were “downwinders” from the mines up north and blame many cases of cancer, mental defects, and birth defects on those mines. I do not want my children’s health to be jeopardized just because we are “down wind” from a mine or because we unknowingly built our house on top of a chemical landfill.”
-Kristian S. Cook

Obviously this is a problem, and we need to make sure we do whatever we can to avoid disasters like these happening in the future. But this Love Canal incident did happen thirty years ago. Most HUGE environmental disasters happened decades ago which makes me think that we must be doing something right. It helps me have a lot of faith in our public health system. Even in the leakages in San Diego I feel that they are being handled quickly and appropriately so that people’s lives have not been put at too much risk.
-Garett Craig

Ok, this is the thing. I think it’s great that we have these awesome little treasure chests of oil in the world and corners where we think we can dump all our toxic wastes but if I could have it my way I would just find those resources/dumping grounds in places where we know we can save as many ecosystems and lives as possible. We don’t have to make the places where everything dwells and the animals prance through fields where we dump awful wastes. I am all about keeping this earth as clean as possible. Awareness is key. If people understood what is going on twenty feet below them or twenty miles away from their homes we might be able to do something about it. I’m going to repost this. Suddenly I am very worried.
-Cassidy Cook

We recently built a home. I took a lot of precautions to make sure that where I was living was environmentally friendly for myself and my family. The city did a good job of taking soil tests and things as well and I was grateful for that. I realize that in a lot of cases, for example the affects of dropping atomic bombs, we do not realize what the consequences of what we do will have in the future. Atomic bombs killed a lot of people immediately but ending up killing a lot more people in the long run because it caused a lot of cancer. I know in attempts to use land wisely--land is a precious commodity and we really do need to “reduce reuse and recycle”--we try to build up those places that we once broke down to hold our toxins and unwanted wastes. I think at first there was no way to really foresee the consequences of doing so. That is an unfortunate even that I believe we have learned from. I also believe we have successfully found ways to regulate this presently and in the future to make sure that more disasters do not happen. I am grateful for that.
-Doris Cook

My mother lived in a house for several years in Lehi that was built in a neighborhood that was built on top of a garbage dump. It made me nervous and I decided to move her away as soon as possible. Since then I have heard too many stories about the dangers of living on garbage dumps and other waste sites to ever consider doing so myself. This is the first time I heard of Love Canal though. It’s a sad story that we need to learn from.
-Loran Cook

Wow. This story really makes you think, doesn’t it? How come I’ve never heard of this before? I don’t know much about the environmental part of public health but this article makes me want to know more. How many other stories like this have I not heard about and how close to home are they?
-Ronal Sumner

This article hits close to home for me. Well, I had three friends die in Monticello because they used to play near the mines and on the piles left over outside the boarded up openings--two died of brain tumors and one of lung cancer. This happens all the time down there that it is almost just accepted. I think it’s pretty sad to lose friends because no one thought to come and properly close up those mines though. And it’s sad to think that I lived somewhere where we almost expected to die from that exposure. I would sure like to do some research on the number of people who have died near where I live in Orem from cancer as well because I bet you could trace it back to the spray they used on the apple and peach orchards that were there all those years. It’s all the same cancer and it’s only in that area of Orem and it’s only those who lived there around those orchards for many years. Environmental hazards are a real threat, something public health officials need to be right on top of all the time to make sure huge disasters like this don’t happen anymore.
-Franny Sumner

I read about love canal in a sociology class or something that I took once. I just kind of pushed it aside like I would any story I read in the newspaper or a textbook, like it was some made up story written to scare us. Or even if it was real, it happened too far away to have any affect on me. But I just watched those two movies and realized how real this was. I was proud of that mom whose little boy kept getting sick for never giving up. I hope that I can be like that someday if I ever need to be. I think she made a huge difference in her community and saved a lot of lives. I can’t imagine how much worse things could have gotten for her son and other kids at that school if she hadn’t have given the problem so much attention. I heard a lot about that Deepwater oil spill stuff too, but once again it was just a story that I did not pay too much attention too because it was so far away that it didn’t seem real or like it was hurting or affecting anyone. I didn’t realize how much damage it really did too, and that it didn’t just put animals in danger but people too. And the leaks in San Diego--I want to live there someday. Now I know to be careful about where. I need to pay closer attention to things I guess. These stories really opened my eyes. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully this comment helps. 
-KC

I feel like waste products are inevitable--we are going to have waste no matter what we do--and unfortunately we have to take care of that. As science develops we might find more ways to clean waste but I think people are trying the best they can. Developing more safe disposal methods is a great area of public health. And a very important one. It is our responsibility to take care of the earth. One of the most interesting things I think you have noted here is that study on autism and environmental factors. Perhaps this is a better study to look at when we are talking about environmental disasters. If this study is true then I want to know more about it!
-Todd Dunaway

My feeling is that I don’t think that we should not poop in the same place that we eat. Thus, we shouldn’t put our toxins in a place where they will affect us--now or in the long run. We should plan and think ahead enough to be able to come up with a way that will not hurt humanity. And also, we should seek out those places that are damaging and get the bad stuff out so that they can’t cause additional harm.
-Nate Killpack